forum Film and other random stuff

Started April 25, 2020 by @Althalosian-is-the-father book

tune

I would advise starting small. Start acting. Not like a play. Be bigger than you normally are in public. Let go of yourself and become one of your characters.

hello all–
i finally got around to watching Dune, and i think it was veeeery good. i really like David Lynch– both as a director and artist. ('David Lynch: The Art Life' is a very interesting documentary, if any of you are fans)
so– something interesting i took note of while watching it was the arab/islamic influence in so much of it. researching it now– I'm understanding that this was present in the book as well.
what do y'all think about the way this was executed in the film?
i haven't read the book yet, but I've skimmed through a few articles that think the story had a bit of cultural appropriation going on, along with a few touching on the fact that no middle eastern or north african actors are being cast for leading Fremen roles in the new remake.

I haven't gotten around to seeing David Lynch's version, but I'd love to (is it on any streaming services?). I'm so glad you liked it!
I'm about 2/3 of the way through the book, and I haven't been let down yet. It's fascinating, Frank Herbert really went all out with the world building. Yes, there are some Islamic and generally middle eastern influences. I noticed some Hebrew parallels. As for those articles, I don't consider it cultural appropriation because
1) The middle eastern influence doesn't take anything sacred or personal from actual middle eastern people and put it in the book.
2) Fremen culture is not Islamic/middle eastern culture. It's it's own culture, placed on an entirely seperate planet in the far future. It isn't a rip off of anything, in my opinion, it's it's own thing, simply stemming from middle eastern influence as well as some original content from Herbert. Take English for example- it has Germanic roots, but it's not German.
That's just my opinion.
As for the new movie coming out, I'm excited. This director said he wasn't going to base it off past reboots and remakes and whatnot- he's going purely book to script. Although, he has made his alterations. Kynes, my favorite character, is a man in the book. Kynes is a woman in the movie. I don't particularly like the gender swap, because I beleive gender is important for certain dynamics in the story. But who knows, reading forward I see how Kynes being a woman wouldn't be too bad. I don't mind the fact that no middle eastern/african people are playing the parts if the Fremen, because the book never says what color they are. It's kind of ironic the people who are mad about that have assumed the color of the Fremen. Religion/culture does not equal skin color. That's not to say I don't believe in diversity in the film making industry, I'm just saying the Fremen aren't middle eastern or african or european or asian, they're Fremen, so I don't care who plays them. That's all my personal opinion.

Haven't seen or read (though I plan to), but I agree about the rep stuff. Don't force that stuff, be chill, etc.

I saw Doubt last night and it was amazing. It's a trip. I was gonna describe it, but here's a trailer.
It's rated PG-13. I would say 15 though.

i'm pretty sure Dune is on Netflix & i agree with the whole representation thing– its just that in the 1984 remake, there were like, no poc.
That does look good. Some people think that Meryl Streep is overrated, but I really like her, especially in Mamma Mia, (one of my favourite movies/musicals)

I though Mama Mia was eh. The message was lame, and I wasn't really down with the whole nonoriginal musical thing.

That does look good. Some people think that Meryl Streep is overrated,

From the little I've seen, she's a goddess.

I agree that the concept and 'idea' of Mamma Mia isn't too original, but…idk. it's just a very happy looking film that my whole family jams out to (literally since i was a kid), and it just makes me smile, as cheesy as that sounds.

I mean, I don't hold it against you. Each to their own.

Has anyone seen Midnight Special? I just saw the last 20 mins and it looks really interesting.

No I haven't. What's it?

I haven't done my research, but it looks like a scifi with aliens or maybe another dimension, and a clairvoyant child.

Ooh, nice, nice.

Ok, I watched War of the Worlds the other day (the newer one, with Tom Cruise), and it was pretty ok. The acting was great, imo. The cinematography wasn't anything special, but not bad either. The story itself is a bit weird. It was adapted from the book, so I guess the weird turns and plot points in the movie can be attributed to "it sounds better when it's in a book". What really intrigues me about it is that War of the Worlds was written by H.G Wells in 1898, and it was turned into a radio show in the late 30s.
If you don't know, WotW is an apocalyptic alien invasion type story. They broadcasted the radio show in a news-reporter format, describing horrible things happening live by the hands of beings from outer space- and people believed it because they couldn't tell if it was real or not. Imagine being a 30s housewife, turning on the radio to hear the entire state of New Jersey has been demolished and the reporters are seeing people being vaporized by alien lazers before their eyes. Still, radio drama was popular by the 20s, so you'd have to be either a dumb or paranoid 30s housewife.
I thought that was a cool way for a story to go. WotW also has a few miniseries and an older movie.

Oh I read that one. Always a great story to it. So how close was the movie to the book? Thinking about it it does make sense that it would be a far better book than movie.

I haven't read the book, but I watched it with my grandpa who has. He said the first and older movie was closer to the original, but the new one was close too. The movie is in New England America instead of London, and the hero's entire family dynamic is shifted from the original story. He's a divorcee, with custody of the kids (who don't trust him) for weekends which when the initial event starts. The goal ends up being to survive and get to their mom. I don't know the original family dynamic, but I'm pretty sure most of that was only the cinematic version. Steven Spielberg directed the newer one, so people praise him for sticking to the classic Sci-Fi and action of it all. Other than that, I'm pretty sure the main events involving man vs. Martian are pretty much the same.

Just Mercy. Watched it last night. Made me furious and want to cry both from sadness and joy.

What's it about

It's free across all platforms, including Youtube if you want to watch.

Dang, the trailer looks really good. I might check it out.

A man is electrocuted to death at one part. Warning there.

This is one of my favorite scenes out of everything I've watched. Warning: It's a spoiler for The West Wing. Here's some backstory- Josh Lyman works for the president. There was a shooting a while ago, and he was a victim in critical condition. Fastforward to now, Christmas time in the White House. Music is being played everywhere all the time, Josh's friends notice he's way more irritable. A pilot who shares Josh's birthday commits suicide. He becomes more edgy and visibly distraught. His friends/coworkers make him talk to a traumatologist/therapist. Here's some of that-

Later it's revealed that the music was triggering his PTSD because for Josh, it was like sirens.

Secondhand Lions makes me SOB

Tell me more.

It's just such an emotional rollercoaster. There's a core theme about truth. The main character is gaslighted a bunch, so he's pretty fragile (which I find relatable), and there's like waves of betrayal and reconciliation throughout the film. There's death involved, but also adventure and celebration of life.
The two other main characters are old men, and I think part of the reason I'm so attached to the movie is because my grandpa is so important to me. He reminds me of both the Great Uncles combined.
It's just beautiful. It's a bit all over the place, but the dialogue and acting is very impactful. It's a kids movie but I swear it rocks my core.
It's on HBOmax I'm pretty sure.

I’ll have to look it up.

Everybody watch Harriet you'll thank me later

ack coming here because i watched The Ritual on Netflix

the story was lacking in some parts and the ending fell flat, but I still loved it and the cinematography was absolutely incredible
a very visually pleasing movie and excellent direction
it’s very good at that mysterious vague ominous vibe in horror movies for the first hour, and it really hooked me
the subtlety was just enough to keep you intrigued
the plot is that a group of friends ventured into the Swedish wilderness, but strange things begin to happen
at it’s surface, it’s a fun spooky movie, but there’s also a lot of emotional baggage to it and feelings of guilt, helplessness, pain, and cowardice

overall I would rate it a 7.9/10

simply amazing on the director’s part, but the ending could’ve been wrapped up much better than it was

highly recommend if you’re up for a spook!